You probably don’t know a lot about this small country in Central Asia called Kyrgyzstan. The things that you know might be negative since the country has suffered in recent months: in a bloody revolution in April, the former president accused of corruption and nepotism was ousted. After weeks of instability, violent clashes broke out in the city of Osh in the South of Kyrgyzstan, leaving up to two thousand dead and hundreds of thousands on the run. The good news is that two weeks ago, a referendum on a new constitution was held with no problems...

Four weeks ago, I arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to start my second Kiva fellowship. I had spent the previous three months in Thiès, Senegal. The poverty patterns which I encountered in Senegal were not apparent in Bishkek. “Poverty in post-Soviet Union countries is not easily understood”, Eva Nemirovsky, the other Kiva Fellow who currently works in Bishkek, wrote in her recent blog post. Indeed. There seemed to be so many amenities here in Bishkek of which I would not have dared to dream of in Senegal! Four example, our apartment had...

Employees of Caurie Microfinance can be characterized by three traits: they work hard, long and passionately! How come?

Caurie staff in the branch of Louga, Senegal: hard work and an easy smile

Whatever branch of Caurie Microfinance I visit, from Louga in the north of Senegal to Vélingara in the south, the identification of employees with the institution is remarkable. Loan officers who work on loan contracts and Kiva profiles till midnight, supervisors who...

When a lender looks at the profile of a borrower on kiva.org, he is fed with lots of information about this individual. The reverse is not always the case, as Taylor Akin pointed out in her great blogpost. At least with lenders who have created a personal lender-profile, it is possible to create a two way communication which fulfills Kiva’s goal of connecting people through lending. Kevin Chaissan demonstrated a beautiful example in his post.

When I visit clients to get information for journal updates, I take a printout of their profile...

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About Kiva Fellows Program

Kiva Fellows are volunteers who maximize Kiva's impact around the world. By working closely with our Field Partners in over 50 countries, they make sure loan dollars go where they're needed most -- while having a few adventures along the way. Learn more >>